Our Customers Don’t Know How We Make Our Sausage and it is Time They Learned [RR 516]

Carolyn Coquillette of Luscious Garage, San Francisco, CA chairs the ASCCA Connected Cars Committee, serves on the ASCCA Board of Directors and is active in her local San Francisco chapter. She’s also the Founder and CEO of Shop-Ware. Look for Carolyn’s other episodes HERE. Scott Brown is an ASE Master Certified Automobile Technician with over three…

Open Forum: Ask the Shop Owner – Part 2 [THA 160]

Andy Bizub from Midwest Performance Cars in Chicago is also a native of Chicago. His first career was 25 years as a commodity trader. He entered the professional auto industry in 2014 by acquiring a failing shop in downtown Chicago that he was a customer of and started a turnaround. Andy now has two locations. He…

Service Advisor Role Play #4 [THA 159]

Jeremy O’Neal President and lead sales trainer for Advisorfix, began his career as a Service Advisor and moved into Service Management at the dealership level for VW, Audi, and Porsche. He consistently placed in the top 3% of Service Advisors across the nation. With a passion for helping others, Jeremy started coaching Service Advisers in…

Zero Dollar Customers – Tom Palermo [RR 511]

Tom Palermo is General Manager of Preferred Automotive Specialties in Jenkintown, PA. Tom is a world class Master Technician and a Certified ASE Advanced Level Technician, is certified from ASE including Master Auto, MasterTruck, Master Truck Equipment, Master School Bus, Master Collision, Master Transit Bus, L1, L2, C1, X1, P2, F1 Besides the 2015 NAPA/ASE…

Shop Owner Open Forum [THA 158]

Panel: Rachael Wacha, City Auto Repair, Gainsville, FL Kate Jonasee, K-Tech, Sebastopol, CA (MSO) Donnie Hudson, Troy Auto Care, Troy, MI (MSO) Jeremy Winters, Service Manager at Weavers Auto Center, Shawnee, KS Talking Points:   Kate’s big thing was the improvement in her company culture and the psychology of herself as a leader was impactful. Rachael, getting…

Survey Says! [RR 501]

John Burkhauser is currently employed at BOLT ON TECHNOLOGY as the Director of Education, a job that allows him to use a lifetime of learning experience day in and day out. John dreamed of being a meteorologist but found out college wasn’t for him. When his car failed the state inspection, that was the day his…

Matt Fanslow – Helping Local Shops [FTR 080]

Matt Fanslow is the diagnostic tech/shop manager at Riverside Automotive in Red Wing, MN. His primary responsibilities are to diagnose driveability and electrical/electronic issues, and perform most all programming, coding, initializing, adoptions, etc. Basically, if it needs to be figured out or has wires, it goes to Matt. He’s been a tech since 1996. Matt is also…

Dominate Your Market – Own the Two Mile Zone [THA 151]

The Panel” Bryan Gossel, BG Automotive, Fort Collins, CO Sue Morsching, Elysian Auto Service, Elysian, MN Heather DePriest, American Garage Chinook, Montana Talking Points  The CEO’s responsibility is to make the phone ring. You must create a year-long marketing calendar to help prepare (anticipate) for special events, seasons, holidays, etc Compare your numbers from each…

THA 145: The Extreme Value of Shop Tours Part 2

THA 145 Shop Tour Part 2

This is our second year in a row to visit a shop in Las Vegas at the end of Industry Week. We were welcomed with open arms at Ted Wien’s Tire and Auto. Our gracious host Jennifer Wiens not only shared her thoughts on the episode but presented a great tour of her facility.

Remember shop tours go both ways. It is good to take them, but also important to host them. You can learn from both. Be open, honest and constructive and benefit from the investment of your time to learn from your peers.

You’ll learn the value of shop tours from these guests,

Our host, Jennifer Wien, Ted Wiens Tire and Auto, Host, Las Vegas, NV
John Long, Shertz Automotive, Shertz, TX
David and Jeanie Light
Eric and Jammie Carlson, Ervine’s Auto Repair and Grand Rapids Hybrid
Frank Scandura, Franks European, Las Vegas
Vic Tarasik, Shop Owner Coach

RR 481: David Saline – Start or Grow Your Fleet Business

RR 481: David Saline – Start or Grow Your Fleet Business

Fleet is a growth strategy only if you and your people and shop are equipped to take the challenge head-on. It is easy to start small. David shares how to break into a fleet and he gives you the blueprint on what to say and do on your first cold call visit. This episode sheds light on how to start, build and grow fleet business.

David Saline, VP Sales at Drive, is a proven industry leader in the automotive and truck repair business.

RR 479: Sara Fraser – Important Millennial Buying Habits and Tendencies

RR 479: Sara Fraser – Millennial Buying Habits and Tendencies

Millennials have become the largest generation recorded. So it is with a meticulous and careful analysis that we need to understand what do millennial customers want when it comes to vehicle service and repair. We need to adjust!

Sara Fraser is a millennial with over 15 years of retail management experience. To bring her customer service, marketing, and business knowledge to the automotive industry she has recently joined the team at Haas Performance Consulting.

She shares how millennials demand a level of service, convenience and digital finesse from whoever services their vehicles. Millennial customers can’t live without their smartphone, share great experiences, want fast communications, know how to post reviews and share on social media, and like at Amazon what things quick and fast. How do you adapt?

RR 477: Danny Sanchez – It is Not Rocket Science to Run a Successful Shop

RR 477: Danny Sanchez – It is Not Rocket Science to Run a Successful Shop

Danny Sanchez, CEO of Autoshop Solutions, likes to keep it simple and direct. Having been a successful shop owner Danny is able to share his past experience as it relates to the challenges of the day. He sees your success as the totality of the shop from the ground up! He shares some key insights that will apply to any shop or organization. We continue to build on the trending talking points that my guests say are the fundamental building blocks of a successful shop today.

Some of the things we talk about are Building a culture, investing in people, using time efficiently and having better customer service. These are the key ingredients of becoming a successful owner!

Danny warns that every time you start something new there is a heavy investment of time, time is a commodity in shorter demand than money. Spend it wisely

THA 137: The Language of Welcome

THA 137 The Language of Welcome

We are talking about communicating and building relationships with a diverse and changing customer demographic.

Now enjoy a fresh dialogue with Bill Nalu from Interstate Auto Care Madison Heights, MI, we actually broadcast live from Bill’s shop, also Frank Leutz Desert Car Care, Chandler, AZ and Wrench Nation and Brian Glowski, South Street Auto Care, Rochester, MI

Our topic is ‘The Language of Welcome. We are talking about communicating and building relationships with a diverse and changing customer demographic. The panel has experience in serving many different cultures and offer ideas on the language and customs gap, having patience and taboo’s you need to learn and understand.

You can find the talking points, for this episode and my guests bio’s and links to their previous episodes at remarkableresults.biz/a137

RR 457: Justin Allen – Working Too Hard? Feel Burned Out?

RR 457: Justin Allen – We are working too hard. Do you feel burned out?

Justin Allen is a sales specialist with Hunter Engineering. His observation: We are working too hard. Do you feel burned out? Listen to Justin tell it like sees it. Justin supports the service professional in his role with Hunter. He’s got a keen eye on our opportunities and challenges and points out some critical needs we have. He is even an advocate of a 4 day work week.

Have you focused on your techs burn out and the quality of their family life? His responsibilities with Hunter give him a 360-degree view of the business side of the aftermarket and the rigorous efforts it takes to run a successful shop.

THA 130: Service Advisor Role Play #3

THA 130 Service Advisor Role Play

My guests are role-playing these three situations: #1: Brakes- the client knows what is wrong and the car has been inspected somewhere else, $2: Oil change- just looking for a price and #3: The Check Engine Light is on – how much to replace the catalytic converter?

My panel includes Rena Rennebohm CEO of Empowered Advisor, Dave Nelson From Antero’s Automotive, Greenwood Village, Colorado and RJ Milnes from DK Automotive Repair, Antioch, CA
Let features and benefits be the service advisors strong tools and during a call, you are interviewing the customer and they are interviewing you, both looking for a good fit. If cheep is what they want and you can’t deliver you’ve learned.

FTR 056: Justin Barrett – Hard Talk on Areas of Improvement for Independents

Justin Barrett – Hard Talk on Areas of Improvement for Independents

Justin Barrett, owner and operator of Barrett Automotive, Cornelia, GA sees areas that need improvement for independent service operators.

Justin Barrett will hit a few nerves as he asks you to take a look at your facility through the lens of the customer. And if you are not requiring 80 hours of training for your people, according to Justin, you are not keeping pace. He’ll also tell you why and how he closes and takes his team to train at venues like Vision in Kansas City.

THA 129: Customer Financing Options

THA 129 Customer Financing Options

What options do you have to help your customers with credit choices. There are many vendor credit options to choose from and they are great. Maybe you don’t use them, maybe you should. No one wants a customer to walk out on a major purchase especially safety related. This session is here to help you capture more of the big-ticket jobs.
You just may hear a financing option idea or two that you’ve never considered. And that is exactly what we do here, push the envelope on strategies and ideas to help you grow as a leader and build your business.

Hear about the acceptance rate of vendor finance programs and a few creative ideas on how to lock in customers with a pre-payment plan. Ever do a comparison of buying new or used vs fixing the vehicle that needs all the work? Have you ever heard of the M & D loan? You are about to.

RR 447: Jonnie Wright – Customer Service: What Are The Three Things You Want To Get Better At?

Jonnie Wright – Customer Service: What Are The Three Things You Want To Get Better At

Keeping customers satisfied is what most businesses strive for and it is what keeps them coming back.

Listen to the story of customer service from Jonnie Wright. Jonnie owns The Buyosphere. Jonnie and I get into a very deep conversation on customer service, generations, the future of phone skills, secret shopping, and reviews. Later in the episode, you will learn that the most important customer becomes the one you w

THA 126: Firing Customers – When is it Right or Wrong?

Bottom line is firing customers is rare, however, it happens and should be for the right reasons.

With me is Joe Hanson, Gordie’s Garage, Roseville, Michigan, Jerry Kezhyaya, The Auto Shop, Plano, TX, and Doug Callaghan, Vic’s Service, Wainright, Alberta, CA

OK, you may not have ever fired a customer or you may have done it just last week. It isn’t a task you do often, however, the job of firing a customer comes with some caveats. Joe, Jerry, and Doug share with you why they would do it and suggest that you do a deep dive inside your business to see if YOU aren’t the problem.

THA 125: Client Loyalty Programs – Do They Work?

Client Loyalty Programs – Do They Work?

We’re going to serve up a strong discussion building client loyalty through loyalty programs. My guests are lo Brian Bates, Eagle Automotive, Columbine Hills, CO, Vinnie Lucio, Co-Auto – Community Conscious Car Care, Reno, NV, and Jeff Rudnick, Pit Crew Marketing.

You’ll hear a wide-open discussion. Vinnie doesn’t have a specific loyalty card but has programs, Brian does have a loyalty card and Jeff brings his insights from a loyalty card company.

A big take-a-way for you is this: A loyalty program will not fix broken systems, processes and a weak selling system and look for every competitive edge to build a relationship with your client.

RR 443: Jill Trotta – Survey Results – The Best and Worst Metro Cities for Car Repair

Jill Trotta Best and Worst Metro Cities for Car Repair Survey

My guest is Jill Trotta. She is the Vice President for Industry Advocacy and Sales at RepairPal. We talked about the surveys that pointed out which metro cities are best for car repair. This is based on factors like average repair order, road quality, average labor rate among others.

The survey talked about the statistics and information about car repair. You will learn the best and the worst cities for repairs according to the survey. The survey also pointed out which cities are most affected by the technician shortage.

THA 111: Building New Customers

Building New Customers

David Roman from Done with Care – Auto Repair from Merium, KS and Greg Bunch from Aspen Auto Clinic from Colorado Springs and also the founder of Transformers Institute bring their A game to this discussion.

We covered a wide spectrum of strategies on customer growth and trust. We enveloped the marketing side of finding new customers and then how to complete the relationship once your service writer brought them from the phone call and into the shop.

David says that a big deception in opening a business; you think you are going to do what you are good at doing, however, you must be good at marketing; to make the phone ring. The CEO must make the phone ring or you’re going to have to spend money to hire a professional to do it.

Greg says that we must educate new clients on who we are, what we do, and why we do it. Greg wants you to Invite your new customer to talk to the tech and walk them through the findings of the inspections. He says that your customer struggles to find a trustworthy mechanic, so if you want to build a long term customer; earn their trust.